Let’s start this article with a wrap up of real estate stats from December 2023, and then move on to other updates impacting the Revelstoke real estate market. In December 2023 there were a total of 14 real estate transactions:
5 single family homes, 3 strata units, 3 manufactured homes on PAD and 3 vacant lots or land. The highest sale price was a single-family home that sold at $1,012,500, and the lowest sale price was $480,000. Real estate listings are remaining on the market between 17 and 87 days before they sell. All single family homes sold for less (percentage?) than their listed price in December.*
Still making headlines in real estate news is the announcement from the Government of British Columbia introducing legislation to limit short term rentals. The key element of this legislation to consider is the introduction of the principal residence requirement effective May 1, 2024.
It means homeowners cannot operate a short-term rental business unless it is located in their principal residence and/or one other unit on their property, like a secondary suite, laneway house or garden suite.
One would assume that this legislation directly affects Revelstoke’s short term rental owners; particularly owners of condominiums in buildings whose primary purpose is short term rentals. However, the legislation does not apply to Revelstoke as we have a population under 10,000 and are defined as a “resort and mountain community”. The City of Revelstoke is contemplating an “opt in”, which means Revelstoke would adopt this legislation by choice.** The city voted (when?) to delay opting into the primary residence requirement and will begin its review of the bill in October.
Another decision impacting many Revelstoke residents is the decision to stratify Glacier Heights and Oscar Street Mobile Home Parks. Simply put, the park tenants would have the opportunity to buy the land they currently rent. Glacier Heights and Oscar Street Mobile Home parks would then be similar to the neighborhood of Johnson Heights. This announcement was accompanied by concern from tenants about the ability to finance the purchase of their land and what other long-term impacts exist.
And no article would be complete without a discussion about taxes. The City of Revelstoke will now be separating the annual utility service fees from the annual property tax notice. What are city utilities? They are fees the City charges for water, sewer, and garbage service if applicable to your property. Why the split? Council would like the community to have better clarity of how much property owners are paying for in utilities versus property taxes. Although utilities are outlined in their own section on the property tax notice, there has been confusion in the past about what has caused a property’s entire bill to increase.***What does this mean for the average home owner. In a nutshell two bills with the same information that was previously on one bill.
Are you interested in a topic that I haven’t covered in one of my previous articles? Reach out and I will write about it.
The Revelstoke community means a lot to me and I want to share the information that is important to you. If your interests are more geared towards a market evaluation of your home, or if you are looking for a realtor to work with, I would love to hear from you as well.
* info taken from the MLS for the Revelstoke Area on January 15, 2024
** https://www.revelstokereview.com/local-news/revelstoke-will-explore-opting-in-for-short-term-rental-laws-5934162 *** http://revelstoke.ca/FAQ.aspx?QID=421